Alton driver crashes into stone retaining wall

ALTON – An Alton man, who ran his truck off the road Wednesday and hit a stone retaining wall, was cited for illegal lane usage and failure to report damage to city property, police say.

According to reports, Matthew L. Myers of the 1700 block of State Street was driving a black Ford F-150 west on Fourth Street in downtown Alton at 1 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, when he left the road at the intersection of Belle Street.

Myers continued to mount the sidewalk on the right, striking a stone retaining wall in front of Hayner Library. He parked the vehicle perpendicular to the parking lines off Belle Street with his truck bed obstructing the road.

He contacted police after residents told him the Alton Police Department towed his vehicle.

Documents said police towed the vehicle because his truck bed was jutting out in the road, posing a potential hazard to other drivers.

Police questioned Myers about why he struck the stone retaining wall, and he declined to answer at first.

After police told him they knew his truck was heavily damaged on the front right side, Myers confessed, “I wasn’t paying attention to the roadway.”